Michael Colgan (born 1972 or 1973 as Michael Hughes in Keady, County Armagh) is a Northern Irish actor, novelist and academic, currently a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Queen Mary University of London.
Early life Colgan was educated at Saint Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh and did his undergraduate studies in English at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, then completed a MA in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, followed by a PhD at London Metropolitan University. He also studied at l'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris and has lived in London.
Academic career Colgan, who uses his birth name of Michael Hughes in his academic career, taught both Creative Writing and English Literature at his alma mater London Metropolitan University and also taught Creative Writing as a Visiting Lecturer at Roehampton University and the University of Hertfordshire, then Lecturer in Creative Writing at Queen’s University Belfast, before joining Queen Mary University of London as a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing.
Acting career A notable early performance in Saint Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh was the role of Harpagon in Molière's L'Avare, which was performed entirely in French. After theatre school in Paris, he went back to Ireland to work with his younger brother, film director Enda Hughes, in 1996 in the feature film The Eliminator.
He starred in the 2002 feature film This Is Not a Love Song directed by Bille Eltringham. He also spent a year working in the Abbey Theatre in Dublin and has appeared in several television productions, including Rebel Heart and Sunday (2002) for the BBC.
Colgan has worked at the Royal Shakespeare Company and in productions at the Royal Exchange, the Abbey Theatre, the Lyric Players' Theatre, Belfast, the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool, the Young Vic and the Tricycle Theatre.
In 2009 he was appearing at the Young Vic in Rupert Goold's critically acclaimed production of King Lear starring Pete Postlethwaite.
In 2013, Colgan played Richard Webb in the drama series What Remains. In 2014 he appeared in the first episode of the Channel 5 detective drama Suspects.
In 2016, Colgan published his first novel, The Countenance Divine, under his real name Michael Hughes. His second novel, Country, was published in August 2018.
Colgan has appeared in two separate depictions of the Chernobyl Disaster. The first being BBC's Surviving Disaster: Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster from 2006 in which he appears as Leonid Toptunov, senior reactor control chief engineer of Reactor 4. The second was HBO's 2019 mini-series Chernobyl in which he depicts Soviet Minister of Coal Industry Mikhail Shchadov.
In 2020, Colgan starred as Rory Maguire in the third series of Nordic noir detective series Marcella.
In 2024, he depicted older Gerry Adams in the last three episodes of Say Nothing.
Filmography
Film YearTitleRoleNotes1997The Eliminator O'Brien 2002Sunday Gerard Donaghey TV film2002This Is Not a Love Song Spike 2002Sinners Eammon TV film2004Wall of Silence Gerard Dillon TV film2005Song of Songs Male Journalist Voice2005The Year London Blew Up: 1974 O'Connell TV film2005Animals Danny Harkman TV film2006Soundproof Connor TV film2010Lennon Naked Derek Taylor TV film2013Good Vibrations Dave 2014Heart of Lightness Arnholm
Television YearTitleRoleNotes2001Rebel Heart Liam O'Toole 2 episodes2004The Long Firm Cutter Episode: "Jimmy's Story"2004Surviving Disaster Leonid Toptunov Episode: "Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster"2007Silent Witness George Woods 2 episodes2008Raw Mal Martin 6 episodes2009Occupation Will Davies 2009The Bill Paul Brewer Episode: "Innocence Betrayed"2010Holby City Mitch Turner Episode: "Taking Over"2011Doctors Minford Boyle Episode: "Last Christmas"2011New Tricks Lorcan "Buzz" McCaffrey Episode: "Tiger Tiger"2011Midsomer Murders Father Behan Episode: "A Sacred Trust"2011Great Expectations Anxious Man Episode 1.22012The Thick of It Mr. Chop / Declan 3 episodes2013The Fall Sheldon Schwartz 2 episodes2013What Remains Richard Webb 3 episodes2014Suspects Laurie Wilkins Episode: "Alone"2016Happy Valley Chaplain Episode 2.12016The Secret Paul Ramsey Part 42016Hooten & the Lady Monsignor Fitzgerald Episode: "Rome"2016My Mother and Other Strangers Father Nolan 2 episodes2017X Company Henri Episode: "Promises"2019Chernobyl Mikhail Shchadov Episode: "Open Wide, O Earth"2020Marcella Rory Maguire Main role2020The Crown IRA Lieutenant "Gold Stick"2022This England Gabriel Milland Main role2024Say NothingGerry AdamsLast 3 episodes2024The RegimeHuber, one of Elena's ministersMiniseries, 3 episodes2025 House of GuinnessReverend Henry Grattan
References
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